2026 WM Darts Sunday Night Preview – JP
2026 WM Darts Sunday Night Preview & Tips
Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2026 World Matchplay Darts Sunday night preview and tips. Dirk Van Duijvenbode was a nice winner for us earlier, as was Gary Anderson -2.5L vs Ryan Joyce. Fingers crossed for more of the same.
Ryan Searle vs. William O’Connor
Searle has played a fairly light schedule in 2026 and skipped last weekend’s Euro Tour event. He has won seven of his last ten matches and has played some very good stuff.
His tournament record is played five, lost three first round matches and made one quarter final. Like Chris Dobey, Searle is not regarded as a great stage player. He did make the semi-final of the World Championship this year but his only other good run was to make the Players Championship Finals final in 2021.
William O’Connor is making his debut and debutants tend to lose. In just the last four years, of ten debutants, only two won their first round matches. O’Connor has not been playing well recently, hitting eight consecutive sub 90 averages. Any more of that and it will be brief stay in Blackpool.
Their H2H record is 7-3 to Searle and he won their only TV match in the 2019 World Championship by a 4-1 margin.
2026 World Matchplay Darts Sunday night Tip: 1 point Ryan Searle to win -2.5 legs @ 2.38 with Boylesports
James Wade vs. Jermaine Wattimena
Wattimena has played in five Matchplays and won just one first round match. That was against the fading power that is Peter Wright last year.
The Machine Gun was runner up in last weekend’s Euro Tour event, but that has to be the weirdest Euro Tour tournament I have ever seen. Wattimena had a tournament average of 89.40, but nobody was scoring well and wins are wins, I guess. He has won seven of his last ten matches but he hasn’t been at his best for a couple of months.
James Wade has played twenty first round matches and won sixteen. He has won six of his last ten and while he too was hitting sub 90 averages in ET10 last weekend, he has hit four ton plus averages in those last ten.
Their H2H record is 7-5 to Wade, but Wattimena has won their last four in a row. Wade beat Wattimena here in 2018 but Wattimena has won their other two first to 10 leg matches, including a 10-8 in last year’s Players Championship finals.
We are on Wade to win the quarter and that is enough interest in the match for me. Wade is 1.67 to win, Wattimena 2.40. No bet.
2026 World Matchplay Darts Sunday night Tip: No Bet
Gian Van Veen vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Van Veen is still struggling for consistency. His A game is good, but it is his B game that is lacking. He has won six of his last ten matches but has just four 95+ averages and five sub 92s. Ratajski can live with the way Van Veen is playing right now.
Ratajski comes here on the back of winning the European Darts Open. It may have been one of the lowest quality Euro Tours in history, but he won it. Not only did he win it, he beat Van Veen in round two. It was a 6-3 win, so not even close. The Polish Eagle has won eight of his last ten matches and has got his consistency back after a wobbly few weeks.
Their H2H record is 2-2 and in 2026 1-1. Van Veen beat Ratajski 61 in March, but that was before he had his health problems and lost his form.
2026 World Matchplay Darts Sunday night Tip: 1 point Krzysztof Ratajski to win @ 2.20 generally available
Wessel Nijman vs. Dave Chisnall
Chizzy was the last player to qualify thanks to Daryl Gurney’s loss of form and Chizzy managing to make the semi-final of PC23 in the penultimate qualifying tournament. He finished just £750 ahead of Gurney.
Was that run a sign of a return to form from Chisnall? I doubt it. He has been out of form for a long time now. His 12-month average is just 90.65 and while he bettered that in eight of his last ten matches, it is a bit soon to say that he is back. It was just sheer will power that got him up for a last push.
Ironically, the match that got him over the line was his first-round win in PC 24 in which he averaged 79 in a 6-4 win over Greg Ritchie. His reward for making it? A first round tie with one of the hottest players on the planet.
Nijman Flying
Nijman has won six Players Championships and two Euro Tours already in 2026. His win rate is 81% and he has won seven of his last ten matches. His 12-month average is 97.14 and his H2H record with Chisnall is 3-0.
They had one match in 2026, Nijman winning 6-4. That saw both players average over the ton and hitting seven 180s between them. Chizzy gave it his best shot and it wasn’t enough.
Chisnall best hope is that Nijman gets stage fright. He has not made any great impression in the big TV Majors, but it is surely only a matter of time.
Nijman is the 1.17 favourite, Chisnall 5.50. I am going to go against the herd and back Chisnall on the handicap. He has had that little burst of recent good form, he has nothing to lose, played well against Nijman earlier this year, and Nijman still has things to prove on TV.
